Why are some private citizens still allowed to carry a gun in city public schools?

Last week, while he was onsite at P.S. 60 in Woodside assisting a colleague with a photo shoot, Richard Repetti’s .38-caliber pistol fell out of his ankle holster in the school lobby and he didn’t even notice.

Repetti had a “Carry Business License,” an unrestricted license that allows business owners who have been robbed before or who carry large amounts of cash to carry a concealed weapon.

So technically, it wasn’t illegal for Repetti to carry his weapon into the school. And when it fell out of his worn-out holster at 7:30 a.m., there were no students present.

A teacher at the school reportedly heard the firearm clatter on the floor and secured it immediately. What’s more, the NYPD responded appropriately by confiscating the piece and revoking his license, making for a best-of-worst case scenario with an ending that was at the very least not unhappy.

Considering the obvious issue of the immediate danger posed to students, faculty and staff of public schools when a poorly secured handgun makes its way onto the premises, we have to wonder, why was it that Repetti was allowed to bring his weapon into the school in the first place?

According to published reports, Repetti won't be charged with a crime for bringing the weapon into the school since the legality of his choice falls in a “gray area.”

With so many firearm-related tragedies plaguing American schools in recent decades, it seems that now is as good a time as any to draw a line in the sand and legally establish that no one other than a law enforcement officer has any business carrying a weapon inside a public school.